On with the Show: The Spirit of Heavy Metal - A Review of Mötley Crüe's Too Fast for Love (1981)

Nowadays, most critics, experts and fans seem to only have negative things to say about glam rock, hard rock and heavy metal quartet Mötley Crüe. People focus on Tommy Lee's dick pic, Vince Neil's substance abuse issues and the group's subpar contemporary concerts proving that the quartet hasn't aged particularly well. What most naysayers tend to forget however is that this band has risen to stardom for valuable reasons and underproduced, raw and aggressive debut album Too Fast for Love showcases the hunger, passion and versatility that would soon propulse the band to its legendary status.

More than four decades later and counting, Too Fast for Love doesn't sound old-fashioned, predictable and simple-minded at all. This record has aged particularly well instead and is still the perfect anthem for a Friday night out at the metal pub with your friends. ''Live Wire'' underlines this spirit of energy, freedom and lust vehemently with its emotional lyrics, ferocious drum play, thunderous bass guitar sounds and tight guitar riffs. The song gets to the point in three concise minutes and then we go on with the show.

''Public Enemy Number One'' is my favourite song on an excellent album and it ain't hard to explain why. This song talks about breaking free, breaking the law and pushing the limits without taking itself seriously at all. This fun anthem is rhythmic as hell with its precise drum play, vibrant bass guitar sounds and melodious guitar sounds while the high-pitched vocals remind of a mixture between Bay City Rollers and Judas Priest. This song simply is one of the greatest party anthems in the heavy metal genre and has been lifting spirits up for four decades and counting. Forget about your rough week at work, exchange suit and tie for denim and leather, invite a beautiful lady for a ride downtown, blast this song at your local pub and don't forget to order some cool beers with that. The good things in life can be this simple sometimes.

''Come On and Dance'' blends in perfectly because it has a similar mindset. The song talks about a beautiful lady and sexual intercourse and there isn't anything wrong with that as long as you're not an insecure conservative or nervous religious person. The musicianship blends in wonderfully and features energetic bass guitar, electric guitar and drum passages that invite to bang your head, raise your fist and sing along. All this lust for life is offered in less than three minutes and leaves listeners with a big smile upon their faces and closed-minded critics with expressions of frenzied malaise. This is the original spirit of heavy metal, short and simple.

Mötley Crüe however already shows that it can play something else than exciting heavy metal anthems as shown in mid-paced power ballad ''Merry-Go-Round'' that is pleasingly catchy in its instrumental simplicity combined with variedly emotional vocals. This song slows the record's energy down for three minutes and feels like walking home in the middle of the night with a slightly dizzy head reminiscing on the great events you have just been experiencing. 

The record's greatest power ballad however remains impressive album closer ''On with the Show'', telling the tale of a man who spent his life in overdrive before being murdered in the middle of the night. While the authentic lyrics almost have autobiographical tendencies, the musicianship invites to reminisce as well with melancholy guitar melodies and smooth but tight rhythm section. This is the kind of song to play in a rock pub before closing it at two o'clock in the morning. If you think such a song might be too old-fashioned now, then let me tell you that it was played just last week at my favourite local pub where the folks who work there are on average a decade younger than myself.

I have to confess that I had never given Mötley Crüe much of a chance due to the band's subpar reputation and the fact that the quartet hasn't released a new studio record in fifteen years but I have recently been discovering the group's early years thanks to the release of the wonderful boxed set Crücial Crüe. If you haven't given the band a chance either, give yourself a gift and explore the quartet's wonderful debut album which is also the band's greatest record by a mile in my book. Mötley Crüe's Too Fast for Love is one of the greatest hard rock and traditional heavy metal records of the eighties and still strikes a chord in the present day. Albums such as this one that promote the spirit of freedom, joy and youth are even more valuable these days than back in the eighties. Grab a cold beer, crank up the volume and enjoy this masterpiece to the fullest!

Final Rating: 90%